And this is why we go to doctors

[42_42_42]

My 6 month old niece has been diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia and the doctor has, accordingly, prescribed an antibiotic along w/ fever reducer (baby Tylenol) and expectorant.

Her father thinks taking her to the doctor was 1) a waste of time and 2) not taking the illness seriously. He is convinced that applying hydrogen peroxide to her armpits and chest via soaked cotton balls, applying a poke weed compress to the bottoms of her feet, and administering her cod liver oil is the correct way to go about treating her.

Fortunately, my sister is sensible and 1) took her daughter to the doctor and 2) is administering prescribed medications and following doctor's orders.

She *did* humor her boyfriend/baby-daddy and do the hydrogen peroxide thing just to prove to him that it wouldn't reduce the infant's fever. He was completely shocked and dumbfounded and couldn't figure out why it didn't work!

[Elspeth]

wait what?! Ok I am going to go and lay down for a bit. That made my head hurt. Glad your sister took the baby to the doctors

[Mishi]

Good grief! Poor baby, I hope she gets better quickly.

[Scorpodael]

So... What, exactly, is Poke Weed and why would anyone believe that applying it to the soles of the feet would do anything for a fever?

[Mishi]

So... What, exactly, is Poke Weed and why would anyone believe that applying it to the soles of the feet would do anything for a fever?

It's sometimes used in children for 'relapsing head colds and poor immunity'. Pokeweed apparently cleans out the lymphatic system, helps with diphtheria symptoms and is used for joint pain. It's highly toxic if incorrectly prepared, carcinogenic with constant use, highly irritating to the mucosa and is cathatic in large doses. Definitely not baby-friendly.

[Dytchdoctir]

My aunt once said, "Doctors don't know anything. You can cure anything with natural herbs."

I replied, "Okay, what natural herbs do you recommend for a gunshot wound to the chest?"

[Bright_Star]

Not only are those home remedies ineffective but a lot of them make the condition you're trying to get rid of worse!

[crazylegs]

My aunt once said, "Doctors don't know anything. You can cure anything with natural herbs."

I replied, "Okay, what natural herbs do you recommend for a gunshot wound to the chest?"

Stolen, stolen for so many uses in the future!

[42_42_42]

It's highly toxic if incorrectly prepared, carcinogenic with constant use, highly irritating to the mucosa and is cathatic in large doses.

Well, he's overdue for serious cancer then. The man eats poke salad fairly regularly.

I figure he'll put the compress on, the baby'll hate it, sis will wash it off and that'll be the end of that. At least he just wants to put it on her feet, not anywhere near a mucous membrane.

[Mishi]

Dude's crazy! I wouldn't touch that, but then again, I'm pretty conservative when it comes to herbal remedies.

[Divra]

Seriously! What is wrong with this guy!!!

Hydrogen peroxide?! I mean... that's bleach...


I admit to having dabbled in herbal medicine at some points in my life, chamomile tea, poultices for insect bites and rashes, that sort of thing but this... gah. Homicidal rage rising.

[AccountingDrone]

Seriously! What is wrong with this guy!!!

Hydrogen peroxide?! I mean... that's bleach...

This world needs procreation licenses. Some people should not be allowed to have children. Period.

I admit to having dabbled in herbal medicine at some points in my life, chamomile tea, poultices for insect bites and rashes, that sort of thing but this... gah. Homicidal rage rising.

No, sodium hypochlorite is bleach, I know I used to make it at a previous job =)

Peroxide is in differing solutions a mouth rinse, a topical debridement agent, a hair bleach, and a chemical toy [you can generate oxygen using it and one of several other chemicals] I use it as a prebrush bleaching agent and oral debridement agent. [spit do NOT swallow!] Topically, the type normally bought in the drugstore in the brown bottle is pretty neutral - it can be poured into slight skin abrasions to help debride them so swabbing it on with a cotton ball is pretty harmless. It may turn the surface dead skin cells white and bubble them off and that is about it.

[Divra]

Alright, alright.... I still stand by the rest of my statement, though.

[Duncan MacLeod]

It's sometimes used in children for 'relapsing head colds and poor immunity'. Pokeweed apparently cleans out the lymphatic system, helps with diphtheria symptoms and is used for joint pain. It's highly toxic if incorrectly prepared, carcinogenic with constant use, highly irritating to the mucosa and is cathatic in large doses. Definitely not baby-friendly.

That sounds like another weed i know well that helps with my joint pain... (i have arthritis from injuries, only 33 years old)

[AccountingDrone]

To be perfectly honest, I would love a time machine so I could go back and terminate Jethro Kloss with extreme prejudice.

Other than most of his 'remedies' starting off with an immediate high enema he resurrected several herbals written several hundred years ago. Unfortunately [and this I learned when researching for my medieval recreationist hobby years ago in the medical library at Strong , a wonderful teaching hospital in NY state] you can *not* trust the old herbals, you need to work with one of the herbal pharmacographias written post 1850. if you absolutely must, try this one.]

Why you ask?

Simple - many herbal remedies used were based on "like affects like", if something looks like a penis, it cures urinary tract or reproductive issues. This influenced homeopathy. Unfortunately it also ends to make the people consulting the herbals give people remedies that are at best ineffectual, at worst poisonous. After roughly 1800 thanks to the scientific revolution people actually started questioning and analyzing [and trying not to kill off their patients by bleeding them out!] Most woo herbals are based on Gerard's Herbal, Culpepper's herbal, and Maud Grieves herbal. I can pretty much categorically state, if you follow her instructions on preparing colchicine from the plant root form, you stand a damned good chance of *dying*. People die from taking the lab prepared colchicine, and that is specifically dosed out at .6mg per tab. You have absolutely no way of knowing the actual chemical content of any plant unless you have a serious amount of training and experience.